The Story of Mallory
by liuxue
Summary: She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out…- OC-centric
1. take it or leave it

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

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She was running on the sidewalks again, a loaf of bread tucked under her arm and a bottle of mineral water in the other. Although she was getting tired quickly, she continued running for as far as her skinny legs could bring her. With a final push, she boosted herself and rounded into an alleyway. She leaned against the brick wall, panting heavily before poking her head out of the corner.

When she realized the coast was clear, she slid down the wall and was in a comfortable sitting position. Her legs were tucked up to her chest and her thin arms were wrapping themselves around her legs.

She gently laid the food on the winter ground before trying to warm her up a bit. Her body temperature was dropping quickly and she was shivering violently. Finding two thin twigs on the ground, covered in the snow, she picked them up and rubbed them together to create the friction she needed. She hoped that the sticks were thick enough to create a fire so as to heat her up. She bit her tongue as a small flame started flickering. Soon, a small fire broke out and Mallory cheered in victory, quietly of course.

Looking back and forth first, she took the bread and water and hid deeper into the shadows. She placed the items next to her again and sat cross-legged near the fire. Her palms were opened out and her fingers were stretched fully, getting the warmth she needed. Once she had felt warm enough to last the morning, she bit into the plain bread and forced herself to swallow.

It was the same thing every day, bland and boring. She had to put up with it. It was not as if she could afford something else. She didn't have the kind of money.

A sigh of disappointment was released as she stared at the flickering flames that were slowly dying out. She had already spent around fifty minutes in that alleyway, it was best not to loiter. Plus, she had already finished her food. What point would it be to stay in there?

She saw a crack on the wall of the building she was leaning on and smiled. After finding out that the crack was large enough to fit her nimble fingers, she started climbing up. Her bare feet were enough to fit into the cracks and the jutting bricks also helped her much.

When she got to the rooftop, she started sprinting and jumping from one rooftop to another. Her movements were graceful, elegant and agile. All that was on her mind was trying to get away from the people on the streets and also possibly any woman crazy enough to want to adopt her.

Once she reached a nearby church, her favourite checkpoint, she climbed up to the cross at the very top and leaned against the base. The view was always beautiful up there, no matter the time. She closed her eyes and relaxed her muscles, praying to the holy man up in heaven. She was always alone, so she prayed for a companion in her life; a friendly companion whose way older than her, so he or she would act as her parent. It would please her greatly if Mallory could even find an adult who would not mind taking care of her and was not crazy, the ladies on the street were all too desperate for her.

Her stomach growled out of hunger and she sighed. Spotting a haystack at the bottom, Mallory took a chance and jumped. At first, she was diving head first into the stack, but after ¼ on the way down, she did a mid-air flip and then straightened her form. She landed into the haystack body first. When she got out, she shook her body a little to get rid of the hay that was stuck in her clothes and hair.

"Have to find a bakery close by," she whispered and spotted a group walking by. With slow and quiet footsteps, she walked casually into the crowd and walked at the pace that they had set beforehand.

This wasn't the life she wanted, but it was 'take it or leave it' in her world.

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**A/N: So, I wrote this on a whim again, just like with any other Assassin's Creed story I write. Aveline and Connor will appear, sometime... Maybe one at a time. And the reason this chapter is so short, it's because it's the prologue; just a basic introduction for Mallory. And although I tend to stray from OC stories, I really wanted to abuse the new OC filter FF had put in recently.**

**Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory belongs to me.**


	2. some questions are left unanswered

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

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_This is taking too slow._

Mallory was still stuck in the crowd, walking too slow for her liking. Her eyes shifted from the front to the rooftops. Like a shadow, she naturally walked out of the crowd and up to the closest building. She surveyed the buildings around it. Not too far away, but not close enough for her liking. Still, it was a faster method of travel than walking on foot. Mallory wasn't a very patient person and always tried to find a faster way through everything.

Just as she was about to climb up the wall, a pair of redcoats walked past her, muttering something about a killer. Natural curiosity got the better of her and she followed them in the shadows. Their whispers were harsh but low and she knew that it had something to do with the governor, at least, from the parts she could pick up. Something about a man in a white hood blending in with the shadows and sneaking up, trying to kill people she'd heard off, famous people. **No doubt the people that have also corrupted America**, she thought with disgust.

Hearing enough and not wanting to throw up on the streets, she walked away from the guards. With steady and silent steps, she blended in with the crowd again before finding a building with a low roof. **Good**, she thought, **it would make my job so much easier**. With the help of a running start, she climbed onto the wall gracefully, not missing one step. Her brown eyes quickly scanned the area and found another low roof building close by; she probably just needed a running start to jump that far. She smirked and ran from her position, trying to jump to her destination. Plan failed.

Just as she was about to grab the brick jutting out of the building's side, her other slipped from its position, making her fall to the ground and in the center of a group of redcoats. **Dang it, this is not my day**…

She breathed in and out before showing her award winning smile. The redcoats didn't buy it and instead shouted at each other to capture her. Getting onto her feet with haste, she ran for her life. Her feet betrayed her a few times as she almost fell from the uneven gravel the Americans call the street. Luckily, she always got up just in time, but it did not stop the redcoats. Every where she went, redcoats were chasing her with shouts that prevented her from hiding in a group of people.

When she spotted an alleyway, she quickly took towards it. Except, a man dressed like a captain blocked her way. She felt an arm wrap around her torso, another covering her mouth. Despite all the kicking and withering she did, the man did not remove his arms and instead led her into the shadows. Mallory tensed up her muscles, a blade hidden in her long sleeves out already. She had on a plan; once the man released her, she would turn around and aim for his throat. The man released her after a while, probably checking to see if there were any redcoats after them. When he let go of her torso, she took this chance to turn around and raised her hand with the blade hidden. Her eyes widened when she felt a firm hand hold her wrist in place, stopping her from attacking him.

"That's not how you treat someone that saved you," he taunted. Mallory could hear the smirk in his voice, and that made her left eye twitch. Her lips formed a straight line and she lowered her head, looking at her feet. Meanwhile, the man lowered her hand gently, placing them at her sides. When he took his hand back, Mallory made no attempt to attack him, instead preferring to look at her bare feet.

Questions were swarming her mind. Who was this man? Why did he save her? How did he know she was going to attack him? How did he predict her movements so accurately? Was this the man the redcoats were talking about? She did hear them say something about him having inhuman speed and, although brash, was actually very good at his job- whatever that was. No, she refused to accept that it was this man. Though, he had a point. He just saved her from possibly freezing to death. She had to thank this man in some way…

"T-thank you," she muttered in her hoarse voice. She had no use for it, not many people noticed her, much less talked to her. She had heard woman downtown cooing about how adorable she looked, but never paid them a mind until they mentioned the idea of adoption. It was always that time when she would run like hell and get away from that area. Also, the stutter was because she wasn't used to talking to strangers, but he had saved her so she had to be polite.

"No problem. Now, why were those men chasing you?" he sat on the snowy ground and looked up at her. Not wanting the man to see her eyes filling up with small tears of joy, she followed him and sat down with her legs tucked under her body. Her hands were folded neatly on her lap and she continued staring down, not sure how to explain though it was a simple story.

"I know you can talk, so why not explain?" he tried prying the information out of her. His eyes held genuine curiosity and worry as Mallory sat silently. The man's sensitive ears picked up footsteps and he raised his head slightly to look over Mallory's shoulders.

"I accidently fell off a rooftop and landed in the middle of their little group…" she trailed off. It was the full story and she wasn't missing any parts to it. Plus, who would the man tell? His friends and expose her as someone not worth his company? It would be her joy if he had left her alone. Plus, she bet that the man didn't believe her story anyways. It sounded crazy to her and she was sure the man thought she was crazy too. Well, being isolated from society for too long does affect one's behavior.

"Why were you on the rooftops?" he asked. His brows furrowed as curiosity surged up his spine. The girl in front of him tensed up, she shot up and looked up him in surprised. This confused him even more and he tiled his head to the side slightly. She shook her head and looked back down at her hands. She didn't want to answer the question, he realized. She probably thought that he would think she was crazy if she told him, but his placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and smiled lightly.

"Come, let's get you home," he said. Mallory remained seated on the snow covered ground, her hands at her side lazily. She made no attempt to move, nor get up. The man stared at her confused again, this girl was complicated. It was when he tilted his head again, Mallory pointed at the tattered and worn out cloth that she would pass off as clothes. It was only then the captain realized that she was sickly pale and too skinny for it to be normal.

The pieces of cloth hung loosely off the thin frame of her body. Her skin could have been a rich shade of brown if she wasn't so malnourished. Her lips were cracked and dry and her hair was covered in grim and dirt. There were thin scars and scabs that he could see from the small parts of her body that were visible. She also looked like she was shivering too violently to be normal.

"Do you have a family?" He smacked himself mentally after he asked. Of course she had no family if her clothes were like that and she was obviously malnourished. Even though she thought that it was strange for him to ask her a question like that, she shook her head in response. Her silence was killing him and he was trying so desperately to make her talk. Though, it was partly his fault for asking her simple yes or no questions.

"Do you know your name?" She nodded her head, but stayed where she was. "Can you tell me?"

Again, in her hoarse voice, she replied, "Mallory."

The man tilted his head and his brows furrowed again, "Do you have a last name?" She shook her head twice. He gulped and, reluctantly, said, "You can borrow my last name for the time being. You need to have an identity."

She stared at him in wonder and question, wondering what drove the man to say that. Nonetheless, she nodded and asked her first question ever, "What is your name?" She had this weird feeling in her stomach that she knew who he was, but stayed silent and waited for her answer.

The man fidgeted nervously, which made Mallory question him more in her mind. Was this man really trustworthy? What if this was all a redcoat trap? Her lips tugged down a bit when she thought about that idea. The man, seeing Mallory's disappointed face, hastily replied, "Ratonhnhaké:ton."

"Ra-doon-ha-gay-doon?" She felt the name familiar on her tongue as she asked him if it was the correct pronounceation. Although it tasted familiar, she crinkled her nose as if it was disgusting. Well, it sounded so foreign to her that it could have been fake. Though, she did feel like the man wouldn't lie, but still, the name was hard to pronounce.

"You can call me Connor if it's too hard for you," he suggested. A shrug of his shoulders showed that he didn't care, but inside, he hoped that she would call him by his original name instead. Mallory nodded licked her lips; she had no business with the man so she had no point in staying. "Also, my last name is Kenway. So, for now at least, you would be Mallory Kenway."

"Mallory Kenway… Sounds awfully awkward to me."

"Do not worry; you would not mind any longer. You will grow used to it."

Mallory smiled at the man- Connor- and nodded her head. She leaned against one of the wall of the building and started kicking the snow, waiting for something else to happen.

Connor stood up and smiled at her, "Well, I have to go now. Thank you for your company, _Kanatiio_."

"_Kanatiio_?"

"You will find out soon enough." And with that, she started walking away and into the busy streets.

"Thank you for your time, Ratonhnhaké:ton," she whispered. And with his sensitive ears, he heard her and smiled. She would know her ties to him soon enough, just not too soon if he could help it.

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**A/N: I feel like I made Mallory and Connor OOC in that scene. Anyways! They finally meet (well at least Mallory and Connor meet). Next chapter would probably focus on Mallory and her memories of her parents, well non-existent memories that is. Also, I had five Mohawk names I wanted for Mallory; Deepali/collection of lamps , Ganesa/good luck, Mandara/ mythical tree, Parvani/ full moon, Sapna/ dream. I found that Sapna fit her best as I got more into the development of her character on my book. It would be explained later on. And Mallory is going to be known by three names in this story so please, bear with it for a while!**

**(P.S: I am not from a Mohawk descendant nor am I even native. I got the names off the Internet and if someone points out that the meanings are wrong, thank you and I am sorry for getting it wrong.)**

**~Snowy**

_Edit1: Thank you, guest who pointed out that the names were of Indian origin. I had my suspicions when I saw Depali but left it at that because names can be universal. However, I do think that Connor would give Mallory a proper Kanien'kehá:ka name, so I took to the website you had given me. Not many options but I ultimately settled on Kanatiio. Thank you for your help, annon._

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft and not me. Only Mallory/ Kanatiio belongs to me._


	3. free for all

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_Why is he so sharp and sensitive?_

After Connor left, Mallory had also ran away from the alleyway. Her steps were light, delicate in every way so as to not leave any footprints behind. She didn't need any redcoats tracking her down by her footprints. They had already caused enough trouble not ten minutes ago. She had no need for them to draw any more attention to her. It would just be unnecessary and since she liked to keep to the darkness, it didn't fit her very well- being the center of attention.

So, she walked out of the alleyway without anyone noticing. Of course, she checked if there were any redcoats before stepping out of her dark sanctuary. The man- Connor- was still on her mind. There were so many questions she wanted to ask before he had left, but didn't have the courage to stop him. She didn't have any other business with him in the first place and he had only captured her out of pure luck. Mallory didn't have her guard up, so it was only by chance.

But the name he had called her by- _Kanatiio_- was completely foreign to her. It sounded awkward on her tongue and tasted bitter. It was almost like it unlocked some sort of memory that was hidden inside. But what did she know? She was only a simple and homeless twelve year old girl that had abandoned her parents two years ago. Surely they didn't miss her… They didn't care about her after all.

Her heart suddenly felt heavy, regrets were weighting it down. Her stomach formed an uncomfortable knot and it was sickening. How could she think about how they feel now? They had practically deserted her for their jobs. They weren't very stable in terms of, well, everything. Her parent's relationship has been rocky ever since she'd remembered, her financial status was nothing to be envied and the place she lived in was anything but gorgeous. Unlike the city people, as she liked to call them, she was better off fending the white faces by her; solitary was what she had previously desired.

And that thought alone brought a tear down her face. Why had she not lived like the children in her small village? They were happy and carefree, _with their parents_… Their smiling faces and innocent laughter, she even had her own team going on in there. Mallory doubted that they'd even cared about her anymore after she had ran away. The adults in the village were nice and warm to her, filling up the hole her parents had left. She didn't even know what her parents looked like now.

"_When she was just a girl_

_She expected the world_

_But it flew away from her reach_

_And the bullets catch in her teeth_

_Life goes on, it gets so heavy_

_The wheel breaks the butterfly_

_Every tear a waterfall_

_In the night the stormy night she'll close her eyes_

_In the night the stormy night away she'd fly…" _It was song she had learnt when she was about five. Ever since, it had been her favourite song. She had remembered it by heart and could play the melody with any instrument, already knowing the notes needed. And in some odd way, it just felt like it was her song; like it was written for her. But that thought was silly; why would anyone waste their time and write a song for her?

Too caught up in her thoughts, she didn't even notice that her legs had brought her into the woods. She shifted uncomfortably as the cloth she wore was not made for this kind of weather. Then again, she had run away when it was summer. How foolish for her to not bring anything with her that night. Well, she couldn't go back now. It was too late for her and her weak apologies. Plus, would the adults really believe her if she did apologize?

With a few sticks she had found on the ground, she set up a small campfire. With her hidden blade free from its bracer, she held it tightly in her hand and set out to go hunting for possibly a rabbit and if she was lucky, a wolf or a deer. The thought of catching a wolf in the dark night made her smirk. In fact, the thought of catching any animals in the darkness would send adrenaline pumping in her veins. The rush made her feel alive and ready to go searching for her food.

She stood up, her hand clutching the blade tightly. It was life or death in this world she lived in, and she was going to go out fighting even if it kills her. So, she started walking carefully, cringing every time the snow underneath would produce a crunching sound with every single step. Still, she walked slowly, her back straight on the trunks of tree and sliding from one to another.

After a few minutes of nothing and with her preparing to climb up a tree to get a better view of everything, she heard a growl. Her head whipped from side to side, trying to find out what that was. If it was a snow wolf, it would be her luck. If not, she would have to settle for a simple rabbit even though she didn't want to.

The growl came out again and she backed herself further up the tree out of natural instinct. She breathed in and out slowly, steadying her heartbeat before stepping away from the tree to put up a braver font. Her lips pulled downwards when she heard footsteps away from her. Following her instincts, Mallory ran towards the fleeting footsteps. When she got a closer look, she smirked. A snow wolf was in front of her, snarling.

She stood her ground and leaned forward and bit, her hands outstretched a little and her fingers curled slightly in a motion that obviously said 'bring it on'. The wolf growled again, getting ready to pounce on Mallory. The girl continued to taunt the wolf with little gestures, and the effect she wanted was obviously shown. The wolf pounced on Mallory. She anticipated this move and swift stepped out of the way. With her hand tightly gripping the blade, she charged at the animal and scratched its hind leg. The wolf whimpered softly before turning to her. She had her back towards the wolf and that was when it pounced on her again. She ducked when the wolf jumped and raised her arm; the sharp blade scratched the wolf's stomach.

It fell in front of her, whimpering almost like it was begging for mercy. In one swift motion, Mallory stabbed the wolf in its stomach and gutted it. The wolf howled loudly before turning silent, its eyes empty. The heavy feeling in her heart was back when she stared into those eyes. She bent down, lifted her hand to the wolf's head and closed its eyes gently, "I am sorry, my friend…"

She dragged the body back to her makeshift base. When she reached, she laid the wolf down gently like it was still alive. She then sat beside the wolf and began skinning it. The fur could make a small blanket for her and when she was to walk again, she could use it to shield her body from the winter winds. After she was done skinning it, she proceeded to cut off all its limbs and roasted the legs on top of the blazing fire. When the meat was turning a light brown, Mallory lifted it off the 'stove' and started with the rest of the legs.

After she was done cooking the limbs, she glanced over at the body and prepared her blade again. First, she sliced off the head and cut open its mouth. Carefully, she plucked out the teeth one by one. Then, she shakily dug out some of the soft snow and the dirt covered under the heavy layer of snow. When she estimated at length and width of the wolf, she dug deeper and wider until she got to her estimation. Carefully, she pushed the body inside in to the ground that acted as a grave for the poor animal.

When she could finally cover up the hole with soil and dirt, Mallory walked up to her camp and started eating the legs slowly. The bitter taste of the animal stayed on her tongue after she had finished one limb and moved onto the other. Was it possible to say that she was still a little girl now? She doubted it, but still hoped. It was the small light of hope in her hands that she didn't want to let go. It was the small light that made her keep moving.

So, why did it feel like it would be flying away because it was tired of Mallory's thinking process, because it had found a new and better owner? She didn't think she would have cried that hard any other time in her life as she wrapped herself up in the wolf's ticklish yet soft skin around herself to keep her out of the cold winter night…

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**A/N: I originally planned for this to be less depressing but my fingers were just typing away. And yes, this chapter focuses more on Mallory and how she would survive in the forest. She inherited her love for animals and hunting skills form Connor. Although I doubt that he would be sorry about killing something that was about to attack him, I found that Mallory would act like that; as if the wolf was an assigned target. She will be looking into her assassin lines soon so don't worry!**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed belongs to Ubisoft. Paradise belongs to Coldplay. Mallory belongs to me._


	4. scabs and scars

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_It's not good to be loitering where people can see you_

She wrapped the fur coat tighter around her frail body as she tracked up the mountain. Her make shift camp was behind her but it was not as if anyone could track her down with it. There only laid a pile of twigs all different sizes, the bones of the wolf and the grave of the poor animal. It wasn't possible to track her down with those bare necessities. Plus, who would even go and discover the base so deep placed in the woods?

The snowstorm was blowing on her, whipping her harshly like she had just committed a crime. Well, she did steal from the people of New York but she had to fend for herself in the world. That was how she chooses to live her life, she had one and half years to adjust and this was how she turned out. It wasn't a very different lifestyle than others- just erase away happiness, laughter and smiles.

Finally, after a good distance away from her camp, she collapsed on the ground. Her legs were aching after all the walking she had done. The fur was starting to slowly slip of her frame because of her negligence. Though, she now lacked the mind to care about the cold wind blowing pass her. Her only focus was on her hunger and how she felt her legs aching and forcing her to slouch. At any given moment, she could pass out or possibly die.

And that one and a half year of surviving alone would be for nothing. Mallory shook her head, ridding her head from those thoughts. This is what she had claimed brought her joy, happiness. Her independence was something she treasured dearly, wasn't it? Another lone tear slid down her check. Yes, her parents never cared about her anyways, why would she bother anymore?

How pathetic of her for thinking about something that has happened more than a year ago, something she chooses; a choice she made. And regrets. Her knees went weak and her fell limp onto the floor. The cold embrace of the snow greeted her and she smiled. Well, she never did meet her parents, but it's not like she will ever. Mallory gladly let the cold arms of the snow hug her and bring her to her end with joy. She closed her eyes and smiled gently.

The cold calmed her and she turned, only to find a person's legs near her face. _Good, kick me if you want,_ she thought. _Just don't try to save me…_

Her wishes weren't granted and the person kneeled down to her eye-level, chocolate eyes meeting red-brown ones. A thin arm snaked its way to Mallory's side that was in contact with the snow, and picked her up slowly. Another hand went to Mallory's own one and tugged on it softly, causing Mallory to look up at the woman in question. She sat up and a wave of warmth washed over her and the woman hugged her out of the blue.

With desperate pushes, Mallory tried to push the unknown woman off of her but to no avail. The energy in the younger girl's palms was failing very quickly and she decided to give up, but still did not hug back. The woman sensed this and released her hold of Mallory, smiling at her all the while.

"Who are you?" Mallory rasped out. Her eyes narrowed at the mysterious woman that seemed to appear out of nowhere to help her and her lips puckered slightly. She crossed her arms underneath her chest and tapped her foot impatiently on the snowy ground, waiting for the woman to reply. The woman, instead, laughed wholeheartedly and placed an arm on Mallory's shoulder. The native girl ripped herself away from the woman quickly, once again feeling uncomfortable.

"Casse-toi," the words came out without her knowledge. She turned her head and started walking the other way- away from the woman. An arm griped her right arm tightly. In defence, Mallory unsheathed her hidden blade and made haste to attack the woman. Just like the day before with Connor, the woman blocked her would be attack with her sword. Mallory widened her eyes before pulling herself away.

"I'd hoped that you would be more cooperative," the woman muttered. Mallory furrowed her eyebrows before stepping away from the older female in front of her. Soft steps were made by the woman in an attempt to comfort the younger one. Her gloved hand reached out, a trusting gesture. The woman stepped closer to Mallory, a light smile grazing her lips.

"I'm Aveline if you want to know." Mallory shook her head. Why would she want to find out this woman's name when she was so forceful just a moment ago? She could not believe that the woman- Aveline as she had said previously- was this kind woman she now saw. A soft bitter chuckle escaped as an unbelieving laugh. Her hidden blade had been sheathed since Aveline introduced herself. Something about her just made Mallory want to believe that she had seen this woman before.

"I-I'm Mallory," she murmured in reply. Her throat tightened as if it was forcing the words out- which she probably was. She had just introduced herself to this strange woman who might or might not be a slaver trader.

She was brought out of her thought when the same arm gripped her own in a death grip and pulled her along the snow. In a mixture of shock and tiredness from thinking too much, she allowed herself to be dragged towards wherever Aveline was taking her. Although her body was feeling cold from all the snow against it, she still allowed herself to be dragged towards the area.

Along the way, Aveline struggled to make conversation with Mallory. However, with everything she'd been through, it was a shock to them both that the younger girl could even muster up a reply- even if they were simplistic. Mallory yawned a little after being dragged around like a rag doll for about ten minutes, "Are we there yet?" The complaint made Aveline giggle just the slightest because it reminded her when she was travelling with someone else.

"Just a little more."

"Can the 'little more' hurry up?"

"Sadly, no."

Mallory sighed as she stared at the trees passing by. Their branches were covered in a thick layer of snow, some of it falling off the brown limb of the trees. The younger girl honestly found nothing interesting nor anything worth taking interest in when she passed by the plants but she had nothing better to do while waiting for Aveline to finish the journey.

"And we're here!" Aveline said to Mallory while smiling. Mallory looked up from her position and was slightly shocked- of course, she didn't show it. The place they were at was made of wood with trees covering it everywhere. Although it looked quite small from her position, Mallory knew that it was bigger on the inside. The thought of seeing the inside of the magnificent house made her smile gently. Aveline snuck a peek at her and grinned at her expression. Her hand made a gesture to the front door of the house to say 'come inside' without using words. Mallory gladly took the invitation and stepped onto the porch. Her hand took hold of the door handle gently before pushing it in. What she saw inside made her smile more.

The walls were white, almost like they were made of marble. The light from the candles radiated off the walls, floors and ceilings, also creating the smell of pine in the process. Mallory touched the cool stone that was the wall and quickly retracted her hand, like the wall was about to bite her hand off. Never in her life had she felt such smooth yet cool walls before.

Aveline had gone ahead to leave Mallory to her staring and walked towards the bathroom located upstairs. She stepped into the room, picked out a few herbs and filled the bathtub up with steaming hot water. Then, she went out to take a few items of cloth that would provide Mallory clothing for now. It was only normal to do this for someone who had almost frozen to death.

"What are you doing, Miss Aveline?" Mallory poked her head out from the doorway. Her hands were gently placed on the wooden frame, almost afraid that she would somehow break it without meaning to. Her fingers danced on the cold surface of the wood, relaxing her tense body.

"Just preparing a bath for you," Aveline replied. Mallory nodded, not quite understanding why Aveline would take that long to prepare something as simple as a bath for her. The familiar smell of medical herbs flooded her nose and she took a small step into the room. A wave of warmth greeted her and she closed her eyes to focus on something she has not had for quite some time.

"Come here," Aveline told her. Mallory walked cautiously over to the bed where Aveline was and stood before her. Aveline gestured for her to seat in front of her and Mallory did so, her brows furrowing. With a gently hand, Aveline began moving the long fringe of Mallory and tucked it behind her ear. The younger lowered her eyes as Aveline gasped. She probably thinks I'm ugly, she thought with disgust. A soft and careful hand brushed against the scar right below her left eye where the fringe was hiding.

Aveline rushed towards the bathroom and left Mallory there. She un-tucked her own hair from behind her ear to let it cover the left side of her face again. Her breathing became harsh as she thought about how she had gotten that scar. She was a naturally wide girl with no sense of rationality what so ever. That almost caused Mallory her life once, but she paid it no mind. She would have died if her village elder had not saved her in time.

Footsteps interrupted her train of thoughts and she looked up. A pail of warm water that smelled like medicine rested beside her. At the foot of the bed was Aveline with a towel in her hands, drenched in water. The older woman held onto Mallory's arm tightly when she saw that the younger girl was about to pull back roughly to avoid any sort of contact with her.

With gentle motions, she pushed the long cloth back until it reached her shoulders and pinned them back with a few safety pins to prevent them from dropping back down. A tear formed in her eye when she saw the many scars Mallory possessed on her forearm. Some of them looked quite recent; some of them had scabbed over. Either way, it was a terrible sight to see.

The African woman tenderly pressed the wet wash cloth against her arm, but winced when she saw Mallory flinch. With slow movements, she gradually worked her way up the younger's arm. When she was done with one arm, she moved onto the other arm. There were move scabs and scars there; some covered with gauze that looked like it was done by a child. Aveline chuckled at the attempts before repeating the delicate motions on the arm.

When she was done, she pulled away from Mallory. Mallory gave her a questioning look when Aveline started working on her single braid that she had always kept in her hair. When the small section of her hair was freed, Aveline combed through it like it was the most precious thing in the world. When Aveline was too busy with her hair, Mallory self-consciously fidgeted with the bracer that contained her hidden blade.

On the inside, she hoped that Aveline would not ask her to remove her bracer; it was the only thing she had left from her parents other than that constant braid in her hair. However, she felt her bracer coming off by her own hands as the buckles were being undone by herself.

* * *

**A/N: So, Aveline finally makes an appearance! I guess that this had nothing to do with revealing anything about Mallory but where her scar is located and how she looks like. I feel like Mallory is talking a little too much to Aveline and might have been a little too polite to her but oh well! I spend almost three days on this so it might not be as well as the others. I feel like it could have been better but I have another plotline for the next chapter, so signing off now!**

**~Snowy**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory belongs to me._


	5. dream

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_Why would she be so nice to me?_

Aveline took Mallory's hand in her's and smile gently. She had just finished her dainty hands with the herbal water the best as she could, but feared that it wasn't enough. Aveline softly ran her fingers with Mallory and felt something missing. Her eyes travelled down to their hands and saw that Mallory had a missing finger. With innocent curiosity, the African woman slowly touched the empty space where the left ring finger would usually be.

When Mallory saw what she was doing, she roughly snatched her hand away and tore off the safety pins. The long cloth that acted as her sleeve rolled down and blocked the view from Aveline. The turquoise cloth blotted the view but Aveline rolled the sleeve up to get a better look. Mallory sniffled but laid her arm on the bed with Aveline guiding her.

"What happened?" the African woman asked, the index finger gently brushing over the space where the ring finger should have been. Mallory shrugged and tried to subtly wiggle her hand away from Aveline. Sadly, it didn't work and she gave up. Her hand relaxed against Aveline's own, still a little nervous about what Aveline would think of her.

"I don't… like to talk about it," she replied. It wasn't a lie, but the heavy feeling in her heart told her otherwise. Still, it was best not to get Aveline even more worried or else Mallory might never hear the end of it. And that thought made her cringe inwardly without even knowing the reason why. Perhaps it was because Mallory felt a sort of motherly connection to Aveline, or maybe it was because Aveline was the only other person to show her kindness. Whatever the reason is, Mallory just didn't feel like disappointing the African woman, even if they were total strangers.

"Its fine," she let go Mallory's hand and got up. Aveline took the bucket that was now empty and walked to the bathroom. Like a lost puppy, Mallory tailed behind her so she could get a good look at the house. Though a little plain, somehow, it felt like she belonged here. It held a certain charm, a lucky charm, which Mallory just felt like she was pulled into.

"It's best to get some rest, don't want you to get tired tomorrow," Aveline said. She led the younger girl to the guest bedroom and stood in the doorway. Although it wasn't much, Mallory nodded her head as a sign of acknowledgement. Aveline turned off the lights and left Mallory at her room, alone. She sighed and jumped onto the bed, resting her head against the pillows that were neatly laid out. It had been a long time since she had lay down on anything comfortable so it like a reward to her, though she didn't know what she had done to get this…

She closed her eyes, falling asleep after a few seconds.

* * *

_She woke up to loud voices, screaming and shouting at each other. Every other night when she had fallen asleep, she would be startled awake by those voices, those haunting voices. They sounded angry, frustrated and sometimes even regretful. Once or twice she had heard sobs coming out and the sounds of heavy footsteps running across the wooden floor, but never had the guts to check them out._

_Softly, she tried luring herself back to sleep. A melody she had learnt from the village elder played continuously in her head as she slowly rolled her body side to side, hoping to block the noises. The screams were getting louder, the sounds of wood being hit filled her with terror. With a calm and soft voice in her head told her to stop thinking about it, ignore the; which only turned out to be a failure. _

_A strange feeling in her chest area told her to go to that dangerous room and ignore all possible threats, all possible dangers that would occur. Would it be worth it; her life in exchange for her curiosity? She shuddered and snuggled tighter into the blanket. Her little fingers wrapped around the cloth and gripped it tightly in her small palms._

_Finally, she could not take it anymore. In a gentle action, she flung the blanket onto the other side of the small room and made her way to the makeshift hallway. She made sure that her footsteps were light, like feathers flowing in the wind. When she was almost at the door way of the room, she strained to hear whatever was going on in there. _

_Silence…_

_ An eerie silence greeted her and she grew even more cautious. The strange feeling in her heart grew and she recognized what that feeling was; fear. Her heart started thumping harder in her chest, her breathing growing shallower than just now. Voices in her head told her to turn away, not to open the door that blocked her view. Her hand rose, ignoring the voices. Just as she was about to push open the door, her uncle pulled her away from the room, and soon, from her house. _

_"No! Let me go!" she yelled in her native tongue. The village elder continued holding her and running away from the house. When they reached their destination, the village elder's house, he placed her down on the makeshift porch steps. Kanatiio looked at the village elder, curiosity filling up her dark brown eyes. The village elder shook his head before walking into his house, gesturing her to follow him. Kanatiio took a step back and ran back to her house to see what was going on. _

_Outside, right next to the house, were two dark figures. Their movements suggested that they were fighting, along with the groans of pain that followed shortly after someone was hit. Kanatiio stood, transfixed, as she watched the two figures fight. Now sure what alliance they were with, she simply observed carefully for any signs that they might be of her parents' brotherhood._

_A sharp sound of metal hitting each other caught Kanatiio's attention. She twisted her head so she could get a better view. The two figures were standing now, weapons on hand. From what she could see, one of them held a tomahawk and a dagger in their hand. The other held what looked similar to a gun and also a similar looking dagger. Kanatiio then realized that they were on the same team, probably from the brotherhood too. _

_Of course, she wasn't told much about the brotherhood and only head snippets of what she could get from the adults in her village. But her interest grew with her age, even going as far a training herself with the 'hidden blade' her father had left behind for her. The bracer held a strange symbol which she thought was the symbol of the brotherhood. Ever since, she had never taken it off unless she was bathing or sleeping._

_One of the black figures bumped into her, knocking her to the ground. The figure, which Kanatiio realized was female after hearing her grunt, got up and dusted herself off. Without even noticing Kanatiio, she ran up to the other figure to continue the spar that they were having, though it looked anything but friendly. Kanatiio felt that heavy feeling in her heart again, making her want to flee. So, she did. She ran away and into the house, trying to fall asleep without the image of those two in her head._

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**A/N: Whoo! I just finished this chapter with a major writer's block in the middle, which led me to write that dream. It's just something that happened to Mallory when she was still in the village, probably nine or eight years old. Her understanding was little then, so it might seem a little weird for her reactions. Also, this seems a little short for my liking to be honest, not as long as the other chapters. And I just had this thought while writing this chapter and it's really bringing me down but I need you guy's opinions on this- does Mallory seem like a Mary-Sue to you? It just seems like she does and it's really been bothering me but I want to know what you guys think. And if she does to you, what can I do make her seem like Mary-Sue... ish?**

**(P.S, I am now replying to all your review on wordpress. Just look up alicebluecinderella . wordpress . com )**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory/ Kanatiio belongs to me._


	6. starting a ship fight

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_Wonder what she has installed for me…_

Her hand grabbed at the rough piece of wood jutting out from the tree. Small parts were sticking out, making her job all the more easier. The feeling of having the wind blow on her face, the sight she might see when she got to the top was exciting her and urging her to move forward. It was still early, only about six in the morning. Though it didn't bother Mallory, she was sued to early rising; once to run away from when she was camping.

Carefully setting herself down on the tallest limb of the tree she had just scaled, her eyes looked over the horizon. The sun was just rising, the rays peeking out from the ocean, and then ever so slowly, the sun's edge looked over and came up. It teased and tested Mallory's patience, but she didn't mind. This was a sight she could get used to everyday.

She swung her legs back and forth, enjoying the cool morning breeze. She breathed in the fresh smell of pine and smiled lightly, not used to the feeling of her face stretching due to the gentle gesture. Then, her thoughts brought her to the two people she had recently met. They were strangely nice to her, like they wanted information after their little meetings. Though, they also revealed little things about her that she didn't know. Kanatiio from Connor, the house from Aveline…

They all seemed familiar, but so far out of reach.

"Mallory! Get down here; I need to talk to you!" She looked down from her position to see Aveline in the same outfit as yesterday, except that the hat was missing. In her hand was a bow and arrow, on her other hand was a bracer similar to Mallory's own one. Confusion and doubt rose in her for a moment before she shook them away mentally.

With careful and graceful movements, she climbed down the tree and landed with an evident 'thud' on the snow. She looked up to Aveline and raised an eyebrow, asking her what she had wanted. Seemed like Mallory had missed seeing the arm that Aveline hid behind her, holding a faded picture. The age of it had shown with the yellow tint and crusted edges, but Mallory made no comment on it.

"Do you recognize the people in this picture?" Aveline asked, hiding a quiver in her voice. Mallory didn't hear it and continued staring at the picture with blank eyes. Never in her life had she seen the two people in the picture, but she kept in because the adult in her village told her it was her parents when they were in their prime. Mallory didn't doubt them, and kept the picture even when she had run away. It seemed like she had forgotten about it when she reached Boston. For one and a half year, she had not seen it and had almost forgotten about it.

"No, but the elders in my village said it was my parents…" Mallory replied in a soft voice, trying hard to control the quiver. She bit her lip when Aveline didn't reply and kept quiet.

"You believed them?" Aveline asked. Mallory could detect the anger in her voice, but did nothing else. Her eyes were still on the picture, wondering what made Aveline so angry about it. Maybe the woman in the picture was her? There was a possibility that it was her, they looked alike although the yellow tint did wash out the colors that Mallory liked to believe were once vivid.

"Did you?"She asked again for conformation. Aveline was practically trembling, but managed to control her temper in front of Mallory.

"The elders in my village are never wrong," she protested. She could see Aveline and thought it would have been better to had thought about her words before letting them out; maybe staying her tongue was the better choice. Mallory adverted her eyes to avoid looked at Aveline, still in the midst of thinking about how to word that sentence better.

"What if they were lying instead?" Aveline questioned. If was hardly a question anymore, and the tone was just shy of a yell or shout. Mallory flinched visually, but Aveline seemed to not care. The silence between them was suffocating both, but neither made any mention for the other to talk. Mallory could sense tears welling up in her eyes, just like last night. The African woman relaxed her shoulders, regretting the choice she had made. Just as she was about to apologize, Mallory turned away and ran into the forest.

"Attendre!" Aveline yelled after her, her eyes widening. It seemed like Mallory was already too far as she did not even stop for a second. Instead, her pace fastened and she was already out of view for Aveline. Chasing after her would just be a silly decision; she would get herself lost if she did. But when did she ever listen to herself? With a guilty heart, Aveline ran towards the woods in an attempt to catch Mallory.

* * *

Mallory somehow found her way out of the woods after climbing tree and scaling hills covered in the snow. Sadly, she landed on her bottom a few times from slipping, but it didn't stop her. She was determined to get out of sight from Aveline, from the house that she once felt comfortable in and get her feet back into familiar territory; the Boston harbor.

She had not come here for a few years; after the incident that had her left ring finger severed. Mallory gulped when she step foot onto the welcoming bustle and hustle of people moving about. The faceless crowd pushed each other, trying to get to their destination as quickly as they possible could. Mallory, however, took her time walking through them, feeling people shove her out of their way a few times. She knocked people down, but the feeling didn't rise- she didn't feel guilty at all.

When her eyes stopped seeing rushing feet, she looked up and sighed. Her destination- the ship- was right in front of her, but she didn't feel like she had the guts to enter. Last she had heard from them was a few months before she had run away. The crew she was so used to was probably replaced with younger men, around the age of seventeen to twenty. But there was a slight chance that she would see friendly faces again though…

Taking that chance, she stepped onto the wooden plank that connected the ship to the deck. The wood creaked under her, showing its old age with every step she took. Her head was bowed as she walked up, swallowing a ball of saliva when she reached the opening of the ship. The boat was about to move, she could feel the ship rock slightly, the captain probably testing out the wheel. Well, no turning back now. She stepped into the boat and tried to calm herself down.

"Well, what do we have here lads?" Mallory turned around and saw a group of men. They looked like they were part of the huge crew on this ship, dressed in the appropriate attire for seafaring. She raised an eyebrow, never seeing these men before, feeling confusion and doubt in that instant. She should have known that the captain had changed the crew, why did she still insist on boarding it?

"Just looking around, I think I'll be going now," she replied in a hurried voice, trying to escape. The blood lust the men were feeling was obviously shown; their eyes glaring and their lips in smirks. Mallory gulped before ducking under a man and trying to reach the opening unharmed.

Then, her back met the wall. A 'thud' sound echoed throughout the empty walls of the hallways as her back had collided with the wooden wall. She puckered her lips in annoyance before getting up and dusting herself off. Looks like she had no choice, it was time to fight…

"No weapons, okay?" she reassured the men. But she was doubting her abilities in taking down a group of full grown men by herself; what if she didn't get out alive?

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**A/N: Blah! Filter chapters make me cringe. Yes, this is what this is. I wanted Mallory to meet Connor again in this chapter, but found no place to put him. So, instead in his place, she picked a fight with a group of men on the ship. I feel like I'm changing Mallory's personality too much here, but I wanted to show that she wasn't that arrogant; at least, not Altair arrogant. Also, I wanted her to use the hidden blade for the fight, but found it unfair for the men because she has a weapon and they don't- so no weapons at all. Plus, she would most likely cut their throats if she used the hidden blade... (The Author's Notes are always longer than I expected...)**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me, it belongs to Ubisoft. Only Mallory and the men belong to me._


	7. serious bruises

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_Remember, never show your weakness_

The men got into a stance; their shoulders stiffened, bending down a bit and their fingers curling and uncurling. They were trying to intimidate her, and it was sadly working. Mallory gulped just like before she had stepped foot onto the ship Why didn't she just listen to her gut feeling instead of taking a chance? Luck was never on her side; seemed like Mistress Misfortune favored her more with each passing day, Lady Luck ignoring her every single day too.

One of the men seemed to have picked up on her nervousness and smirked while taunting her, "Not so sure of you now, eh pretty girl?" Mallory cringed when hearing the last two words, feeling dirty that a full grown man was flirting with her- he should feel dirtier than her. Worries grew within her, as did questions; why were they not attacking? Were they waiting for her to make the first move? Surely they didn't think her such a fool, though she did climb onto the ship without permission…

She balled her hand into fists, not wanting to wait anymore; it was better to just get it over with. Seems like the men had the same mindset as her because they ran towards her, one after another. With hasty steps, she carefully planned her moves. Her feet stepped to the side as quickly as they could, making the men crash into boxes. She wanted to keep them as quiet as possible so as to not attract attention, but there was no helping the loud crash.

One of the men ran at her, his fist raised and aiming an attack right at her face. She didn't know and stood paralyzed. If it was a movie, someone would have saved her. Sadly, it was not one and the fist made direct contact with her mouth as she stepped slightly to avoid the fist meeting her nose. The man groaned with annoyance, not finished with her. He stood up again, aiming another punch at her nose. Luckily, for once, she blocked the attack with her own fist and opened it, slapping the man with the back of her hand. On the inside, she jumped for joy at the first attack she had made but remained stoic on the outside.

Another man ran in front of her with lighting speed and punched her on her cheek. Her head flew to one side and she could feel the area stinging, but paid it no mind. She turned to the man and kicked him in the shins, nearly missing his crotch. He held onto his leg for a few seconds before punching her in the gut with his free hand. Mallory stumbled more than a few steps back and bumped into another man behind her. He held onto her neck before lifting her up, looking her in her eyes. She struggled in his grip, her hands attempting to force his hands to let go of her throat. Her legs kicked wildly at the air, missing her target multiple times. He laughed loudly at her futile attempts, the sound echoing throughout the unusually empty hallways.

Finally, with her last bit of strength, she managed to kick him in the area near his crotch. He didn't double over in pain as she had hoped, but he did loosen his grip ever so slightly so that Mallory could get her breathing back to its normal speed. Her heart thumped hard, pumping blood to her brain quickly. Dizziness got a hold of her and she held her head in pain, trying to control herself and not let her focus weaver.

A leg kicked her from below and she fell onto the hard wooden floor. Now, her head felt a splitting pain and her bottom was sore. Though she wasn't complaining after her lower area, she was more concerned for the splitting pain in her head. A hand grabbed her from behind and held onto her neck tightly again, lifting her up to meet the other man. One of them looked at her and smirked, his fist raised. Mallory tried to breathe, but found it impossible with the man's iron grip. Her brows furrowed in worry, her lips pursed into a thin line. The fist made direct contact with her eye with nothing holding it back; what could hold it back? The man that had punched her stepped aside to reveal another man behind him. She widened her eyes, trying to ignore the soaring pain in the left one. Even if it was covered by her hair, it was not very well protected.

The man in front of her now smirked, raising his fist as well. It landed on her other eye and as it did, she felt a leg kick the behind of her shin. Her eyes stung now, both of them had been punched by two full grown men. The tears that were welling up were not helping the situation either. The man loosened his grip and allowed her to fall on the floor, limp like a puppet without strings. She curled up into a fetal position as the men kicked her and spat on her. Nasty comments were passed around the three about her, but she heard one that made her heart beat faster.

"Doesn't she look like the captain?" one asked. Mummers were exchanged, signaling agreement. She wondered who the captain was, and where was he? Here she was, getting beaten up by the men of his crew and he was probably chatting up with the other men with a mug of beer in his hand- not somebody she would want to be possibly related to. But a shimmer of hope flew in front of her- her hidden blade had fallen to the floor- and she reached out to grab it.

A leg crushed her hand before it could even reach it and she forcefully looked up, seeing who had crushed her hand. It was somebody she did not fight just now, he wasn't even the slightest bit bloody but he looked a little too young to be working on deck too. So, who was this boy that had stomped on her hand so hard?

"Daddy told me that there was an interesting fight here, guess I came too late," he shrugged casually, his leg still crushing her hand. She bit her already swollen lips, trying to contain the irritation bubbling up inside her. She felt another leg step on her back and she looked up. The boy was standing on her like a king that had won another battle and she –filled up to the brim with anger- pulled the leg that was on her hand with the other one. He fell with quite a high pitched scream and landed in front of her. She forced herself to smirk even though her lips were already bleeding profusely.

"You can still attempt at injuring me? Let's see what I can do to your face," he leaned down when he spoke to her, letting her see the boy. He bent up to his original position before she could get a good look at him and with his leg slightly reeled back; he kicked her nose lightly, probably thinking that she couldn't take the pain. It was only then she had realized that the three men were not near her anymore; instead, they were off in a corner of the hallways near her chatting about things she most likely didn't give a damn about.

She then felt a warm hand shake her body lightly; treating her as if she would break at any moment- which would probably happen if someone had hit her again. Struggling to life her head, she decided to open her eyes slightly to see who it was. Not even able to open her eyes for longer than one second, she let her whole body go limp. She relaxed against the cold, wooden floors and prayed that the man would not abuse her.

"Who did this?" His booming voice echoed throughout the hallways but he got no answer except retreating footsteps. He sighed and squatted down to her eye-level, resting his hand on his hidden laps. With a gentle hand, he lifted her head so she could look at him but it seemed like it was becoming increasingly for difficult for her. Her eyes struggled to open to see clearly instead of colored blobs that were extremely blurred. She tried to breathe normally, struggling to tell the man to let her head go because of the aching behind her neck.

"H-hurt…" she managed to get out in a hoarse voice. The man then let go of her head and let it meet the ground. Mallory could only get out a pained groan before the man picked her up in his arms and tried running to somewhere. It was a bumpy ride with Mallory jumping slightly every few steps and that caused her wounds to hurt even more. After a few groans and moans out of pain from her, he finally stopped at a door. With something that sounded like a conflicted sigh, he set her down gently before pushing the door open.

The smell of medicine filled Mallory's hurt nose and she turned around weakly to let herself go from the smell. Her body relaxed and the few memories of Aveline filled her mind. A single tear slipped out and she flinched back, hurting her back more. This caused her to groan out of pain again and the man casted a look at her. Hurriedly, he picked her up and walked inside the room. In a gentle movement, he laid her on a makeshift bed made out of cloth and possibly hay underneath the cotton.

After a few shifting noises, she heard the man pull out a chair roughly beside her. A cool liquid that she guesses was rubbing alcohol was pressed on the side of her face, trying to sooth the pain that was there. Her heart told her to flinch away from the touch before she tried to stay still, wanting to see the man that was making an honest effort to heal her. She shifted uncomfortably around in the make-shift bed, wanting to thank the man faster for his efforts and then get out of the cursed ship.

"If you're thinking of escaping, the door is already closed and we are at the middle of sea," he said. If Mallory could get enough strength to answer him with a spiteful reply, she would. But sadly, she was practically crippled then so she preferred to keep her mouth shut than harm herself even more. So, with a shaking hand, she slapped him lightly on the arm that was holding the cloth to her face. The man chuckled softly before saying, "This is the second time I have saved you and you still try to harm me."

"M-Mr. Rato-tonhnha-ke… ton?"She stuttered as he kept moving his hand. The stutter made her breathing more difficult and she decided to keep her mouth shut of the rest of the time, at least, until he gets an ice pack and places it on her lips and eyes. They were still stinging with a numb pain but her head was hurting harder somehow. Maybe losing her breath for such a long extended period of time and getting abused would trigger that problem.

He hummed in response to her question, continuing with treating her injuries caused by some of his own men. Connor made quickly but gentle movements throughout her face, then repeating the same process for her arms and the back of her neck- and then doing the whole thing twice again just so he could make sure that every part of her injuries was treated with the rubbing alcohol. Then, he got three ice packs out of the mini fridge and placed them on her lips, right eye and the top of her head.

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**A/N: Yay! Fight scene! I stayed up late into the night just to work on that so now, I really can't feel my fingers... And it tool up like, three pages in Microsoft Word but I swear I'm not good at these types of things. This is probably the first time I wrote a detailed fight in a story so I'm sorry if it sucked! Anyway, I'm wondering if anybody reads the review replies to be honest since your reviews make it seem like you didn't read them but oh well, let's pretend you did.**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me. Only Mallory and the men belong to me._


	8. getting off the ship

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

* * *

_ Staying bedridden for four days is not fun…_

Mallory pouted as Connor walked into her room again, a bowl of soup in his hand and a towel in his other hand. Somehow along the healing process, Mallory got a fever and was commended by Connor to stay in bed until she was well enough to walk without throwing up on the floors or clutching her stomach every few steps. Her head was still a little light, kind of like she had just been hit in the head with a metal bat repeatedly.

"You know, I just noticed that this is not what you were wearing when I first saw you," Connor chuckled while picking the sleeve of the shirt. Mallory shrugged away from his touch and looked away, not wanting him to see the tears gathering. Then, she felt fingers in her hair and she sighed. "Your hair is also very uneven, did you cut it yourself?"

"Yeah," she admitted while still looking away. Previously, her hair was at the bottom of her spine, but she chopped most of it away with a make-shift tomahawk. It was only a few minutes before she ran away, so she left behind a whole pile of hair for her elders to discover the day after. Of course her hair had grown out, but it still maintained the messy and uneven state she had left it in. Personally, she thought she looked better with uneven hair, it looked nicer to her. Plus, she neither had the time nor the ability to even it out.

"Where is your braid?" Connor asked, combing through her hair like a mother would. Mallory widened her eyes, forgetting all about the second thing that she had left with. How could she have not tied up her hair before hand? That lone braid was something her father had in his teenage years, at least, that's what the elders told her. After Aveline's outburst, she didn't know what to think any more. One thing's for sure, she needed to get that hair band back- meaning she had to go back to the big manor.

"I… lost the hair band," she replied after a few minutes had passed. She knew that Connor didn't believe her, he's too damn smart. But he dropped the subject after hearing her answer, also dropping combing her hair. His gaze landed on the towel that he placed on the foot of the bed and sighed. He forgot that she had a fever and she was sitting up. At least she wasn't struggling to get up or sit up straight; meaning she was improving.

"How old are you?" he asked, looking out the hole that acted as a window. The sun was slipping in, the sky was painted orange. The sun was setting and he knew that the next day, he would have to return to Boston. He sighed as he hoped that he wouldn't see _her_ on the harbor. That woman knew when he was going back, and usually waited near the parking space just to spite him.

"Twelve and a half, why?" she turned her attention to Connor, raising an eyebrow when she saw then distant look in his eyes; like he was thinking of something important. She bit her lip to hide a small frown when she saw the tears that were forming in his glossed over eyes. The clear liquid was threatening to pour out, overflow. Before she could comment on it though, he turned his head away so she won't see him.

"Just curious," he replied. He got the cold bowl that was still filled with soup and walked out, leaving the slightly damp towel at the foot of the bed. With hasty steps, he walked out the cabin while trying not to spill the soup. Mallory frowned while sitting in her bed, pondering what Connor was thinking about to make him almost cry. After a few moments, she realized that she did not know anything about his private life and pouted, wanting to help him.

Deciding that the best thing to do was sleep at that moment, she lay back down and closed her eyes. Sleep came almost immediately as she drifted off to a cooling and comforting dreamland.

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"We're getting off the boat today, wake up," Connor shook Mallory's shoulder slightly, trying to wake the girl up. Mallory groaned and took the wrist of Connor's hand, and squeezed it roughly. Connor groaned slightly in pain from the lack of blood circulating into his hand but did not move his hand. Instead, he squeezed Mallory's shoulder gently in fear of hurting her. Mallory released her hold on Connor's wrist and pushed his hand away. She sat up in her bed and rubbed her eyes like a child, Connor chuckling at the childish action.

"Come on, we have to get out."

Mallory nodded while jumping out of bed to follow Connor. While they were walking down the hallways, Mallory looked around the ship, having not seen it before. She had not been let out of her cabin for the past four days so this was the only chance she got to look at the ship. Countless pistols were on the walls, swords on the ground. Not a very nice sight to her. She sighed, giving up on finding something about his personal life until she saw a perfect picture in black and white. She could not see from her position, but she could tell it was of him and possibly a colonial woman.

"Get off the boat," Connor said, breaking her train of thought. Mallory looked to the door of the ship, a plank placed in front of it. Reluctantly, she walked down the plank onto the harbor but not without a last look at the picture. Connor was behind her in an instant, making sure she got down safely. Then, she heard a quiet sigh come out from him. She looked at his eyes before following his gaze to near the marketplace. She face brightened slightly before she ran away from Connor and to the woman.

"Lady Aveline!" she yelled loudly while running towards the African woman. Mallory then proceeded to hug Aveline, almost tackling her to the ground. Mallory buried her face at the space below Aveline's chest, breathing in the faint smell of pine. How she missed the comforting embrace of Aveline, she kind of regretted running away from the manor.

"Hello Derora, how are you?" Aveline asked while hugging her closer. They stayed in that position for a few moments before Mallory pulled away and smiled at her.

"Just fine, thank you Lady Aveline," Mallory replied. She didn't miss the word Derora but guessed it was just a nickname for her, like Kanatiio from Connor. Aveline smiled at the response and looked towards the direction of the ship, more specifically- the ship's captain that was walking towards the two girls. His strides were fast but short, hastily making his way towards them. Aveline couldn't help the smirk forming on her lips when she saw him.

"Hello, Connor," she greeted when he was within ear-shot. He nodded in reply while looking at Mallory. Mallory looked before them, not sensing the tension but not knowing how they knew each other. She decided to not question it and stood in the middle, waiting for someone to break the silence. When nobody did however, Mallory did the only thing she knew how to do; run.

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**A/N: Everything looks so much longer in Microsoft word. So is sort of an apology chapter for you guys after posting the author's note. So, Aveline and Connor see each other again! And I reveal the third name that Mallory is going to be known by. Not sure what origin Derora is from but it means 'a bird; a swallow'. I thought I'd get continue the trend of Assassin names that mean bird. (Connor broke that chain) Anyways, wonder how Connor and Aveline with deal with Mallory running away- again. (Also, my tumblr has a picture of Mallory ages 12,10 and 8. I am aware that when she's age 12, he skin looks light but blame it on Microsoft paint. Just imagine that her skin is darker but not as dark as when she was 10 and 8.) **

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me. Only Mallory/ Derora/ Kanatiio belongs to me._


	9. running away

**The story of Mallory**

**She grew up with no family support; her parents had jobs that prevented them to spend time with her. She ran away and is now trying to survive. But, who is this mysterious woman and man that appear at the most thankful time? She had to find out… OC-centric**

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"Derora!" "Kanatiio!"

The pair glared at each other and made a 'tch' sound when they heard the other's choice of words. Aveline crossed her arms and faced the other side, forgetting about Mallory for a moment. Connor, instead, looked at the rooftops. They were the fastest method of travel after all, even though Mallory did take off on foot. Aveline slightly glanced at the path that Mallory had taken, trying to remember the where the road led to. Then, her eyes widened.

The Davenport Manor!

Connor looked at her when her face had brightened. He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. Then, with a strangely tight grip on his arm, Aveline tried pulling his towards another direction. Key word: tried. Connor stood rooted to the ground, looking at the woman almost as if she was a stranger. Aveline did not catch the look that he was giving her and continued pulling him. Inch by inch, he was being pulled by the strong girl away from his previous standing spot.

"Where are you leading me?" He asked, his voice gruff while trying to sound annoyed. Admittedly, he was impressed with her strength and did miss her a little bit.

"The Davenport Homestead, she's bound to be running there." Aveline stopped her attempt at dragging him and stared at him, waiting for his answer. It was up to him if he wanted to follow, but she wanted him to go with her. Finally, Connor shrugged and uncrossed his arms, walking in the direction that Aveline was pulling him in. With a faint smile, Aveline began jogging beside Connor.

* * *

Her feet were tired, her stomach was growling and she had absolutely no idea where she was running to. All she knew was that she had to get away from Aveline and Connor without knocking down too many people from her escape. When she got to the edges that led her into the forest, she stopped and looked around. She groaned when she saw that there were no trees that were fit for climbing, which met that her feet would hurt even more. However, she could not let Aveline and Connor catch her.

So, she continued on running away from Boston and into the forest. The ground crunched underneath her, of course she would forget about the snow. It had been four days since she'd seen any sort of land and the water at sea was too deep to be frozen.-plus, the little night outfit that Aveline had lent her was not holding up well against the wind. Again, Mallory's nimble hand rose to her shoulder and lifted up the hem of the night shirt. It kept falling off and it annoyed her to no end- especially since she was always running and climbing. Somehow, she would need to get to the manor again and get back her old clothes. And, possibly also her hair band.

Shivering, she slowly walked into the forest. Little rabbits and deer ran pass her in a blinding speed, at least for her. She was always a little on the slow side- naïve and innocent. Also, she normally only focused on one thing: getting enough food to survive. Though, she thought that she had gottenenough food that could have lasted her weeks when she was on the Aquila. The smell and taste of the warm mushroom soup was still vividly in her mind.

"No!" she scolded herself while hitting her head. "You must not think about food right now. Try to think about running." That seemed like it made things worse as her stomach growled as if it was demanding to be fed. She sighed and looked around. There were no animals running around anymore- probably hibernating as it was practically the head of winter now. Ignoring her demanding stomach, Mallory continued trudging to where she thought that the hill was stopping.

To her surprise, she saw that at the bottom, was a house made of what she thought was wood. Well, the roof was covered in snow so she could not really make out what it was made from- however, she could see the sides of them and it looked like wood to her. And when she stepped to the edge of the cliff, she almost puked. Mallory had never really noticed how high up she was. Especially since she was just always running either on tress or on the ground. Then, she saw a pile of hay at the bottom. Sighing, she mentally counted to ten before doing something that she did not usually do anymore; a leap of faith.

Luckily, she did not break any bones on her fall, seemed like the hay was actually safer than she had previously thought. Mallory got out of the hay stack, brushing off the extra stands of hay that got stuck in her clothes and hair. Slowly and cautiously, she walked towards the wooden house and knocked on the door softly. She stood back and waited for a response while gulping. There came no response after a while, so Mallory decided to just stand at the door while rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Oh my." Mallory turned around when she heard the soft exclamation. She looked at the woman confused, wondering she was the owner of the house. Like a scared little mouse, Mallory took a step forward and bowed her head in greeting and to hind the little flush that was on her cheeks. They stood there for moments before Mallory noticed the needle and thread on the floor. Slowly, she knelt down to pick them up and place them in a basket where she presumed was the women's.

"Oh, no need to do that dear." Mallory looked up again in confusion while still holding the woman's basket. The woman was now smiling at her while one of her hands was reached out- either to take the basket or to help Mallory up. Mallory liked to believe that the woman was not kind enough to help a stranger up, so she gave her the basket that she was holding. Almost hesitantly, the woman took the basket and reached her other hand out.

"I don't… have any money… ma'am," Mallory replied sheepishly when she saw the other hand reached out. Now, it was the woman's turn to look at her confused. As softly as possible, she gripped onto Mallory's forearm and lifted her up. Mallory looked at her frightened and confused, afraid of what she would do to her. To her surprise, the women led her into the small wooden house and set her down on a chair. Mallory sat down cautiously, looking as the woman walked in the make-shift kitchen and set down the things in the basket.

"Would you like to tell me what happened to you dear?" Mallory stared down at her lap, refusing to talk. The woman sighed before placing a hand on her shoulder to reassure her that everything would be fine.

"My name is Ellen," she said.

"My name is…" she hesitated before continuing, "Kanatiio."

"Kanatiio?"

Mallory nodded, shocked at how the woman pronounced her name completely right. Ellen smiled and sat across from her on a wooden chair, "Would you like to tell me what's going on?"

Mallory nodded again and opened her mouth to speak. Well, she was before a loud knocking was heard on the door. She widened her eyes- what if her parents had found her?

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**A/N: I feel as if I'm having really bad writer's block because I can't think of anything else but my soon to come trip to Cameron Highlands and KL. It's after my exams, I really don't have a reason _not_ to update but I'm so pumped up for it! Sure it's going to be educational, but I'm staying in a four-star hotel, possibly getting free breakfast and I get to sleep on a comfortable bed again. Plus, the beds in KL are so nice. Better than my home at least. They're so soft! **

**Anyways back to the story. Yay! Ellen is here. She's not my favorite Homestead resident, Myriam is, but she's great nonetheless. Honestly, I find that she would be very gentle, sweet. A nice mother defiantly, and the homestead missions for her was quiet fun. I remember just running around her house trying to find the thugs and it was really relaxing for me, strange as it sounds. By the way, is Achilles' death the last of the Homestead missions? I have a feeling it is, and it might sound dumb, but I feel like I missed something in the game... Maybe it's me and enjoyment of it.**

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_Disclaimer: Assassin's Creed does not belong to me. Only Mallory/Derora/Kanatiio belongs to me._


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